Young Artists Symphony Orchestra Features Concertmaster Eduardo Rios on Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto

Young Artists Symphony Orchestra (YASO), led by Artistic Director Alexander Treger, continues its inaugural season with a free concert spotlighting two remarkable artists from its own ranks on Sunday, December 6, 2015, 7 pm, at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Twenty-year-old Peruvian-born Concertmaster Eduardo Rios, lauded for his “luminous” playing (Aspen Times), performs Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, considered one of the greatest violin concertos of all time, and Associate Conductor Henry Shin makes his YASO debut conducting Wagner’s intimate and tender tone poem Siegfried Idyll. Treger, who conducts the Mendelssohn, also leads Dvořák’s solemn Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70, which showcases the composer at his best. YASO, a recently established pre-professional training orchestra hailed as a “glorious” (Out West Arts) “musical force to be reckoned with” (LA Opus), champions, mentors and inspires the next generation of outstanding young musicians for careers in classical music.

Treger says of the featured soloist, “Eduardo Rios is a exceptional talent with a brilliant future.” He adds, “YASO is also proud to present our gifted associate conductor, Henry Shin.”

Rios, a Bachelor of Music candidate at the Colburn School Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, recently made his American debut with the Houston Symphony and won of the prestigious 2015 Sphinx Competition, which comes with a $50,000 cash prize. In addition to his solo appearance with YASO, Rios’s 2015–16 performances include debuts with the Nashville Symphony and the Colburn Orchestra. He made his solo debut at age 14 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Peru and, in the US, attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts Summer Camp and the Aspen Festival as a scholarship student, among numerous achievements.

Shin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from UC Berkeley, a Masters degree in conducting from the USC Flora L. Thornton School of Music, and is currently completing his doctoral studies at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. In addition to serving as associate conductor of the Young Artist Symphony Orchestra, he is Director of Orchestras at Pasadena City College, the music director and conductor of the nationally-acclaimed Harmony Project Orchestras, Hollywood, and serves as the assistant conductor of the Elizabeth Mandel Music Institute (EMMI) Chamber Orchestra at the Crossroads School in Santa Monica. He was formerly the assistant conductor of the San Francisco Civic Symphony and the University Symphony Orchestra at UC Berkeley.

Treger, former concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is “an icon of the Los Angeles musical scene” (LA Opus) whose conducting has been described as “vivid” (The New York Times), “uplifting” (Musical America) and “expertly finessed” (Examiner).

YASO, comprised of dedicated young artists ages 15 to 26 drawn from a variety of schools and conservatories around the Southland, adheres to the high standards and protocols of professional orchestras, providing the orchestra members with the same type of experiences they will encounter as professional artists. YASO members, who receive a generous stipend for their services, are selected through a rigorous audition process. They perform key works that are an essential part of the core orchestral repertoire and are held to extremely high standards since many of the members will be auditioning directly into professional ensembles. During its inaugural 2015-16 season, YASO presents two more free concerts this season at Royce Hall on Sunday, February 28, 2016, and Saturday, April 23, 2016, with such featured repertoire as Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, Lutoslawski’s Little Suite, and John Adams’ The Chairman Dances.

Admission to the concert is free. Reservations can be made in advance at YASOLA.org or (310) 905-3496. Tickets are also available at the door the night of the concert.